Long Lake Management, backed by General Catalyst and Alpha Wave, will pay shareholders $9.50 per share — a 60% premium to Friday's close
American Express $AXP Global Business Travel agreed to be acquired by Long Lake Management in an all-cash deal valued at $6.3 billion, the companies said Monday.
Shareholders will receive $9.50 per share under the terms of the offer, a 60.2% premium over the stock's May 1 closing price, with Long Lake drawing on backing from General Catalyst and Alpha Wave. Amex GBT stock rose 57% in pre-market trading Monday.
Regulatory approvals must be secured before the deal can be completed, with both companies targeting a closing date sometime in the latter half of 2026. The deal will take Amex GBT private and marks the first take-private for Long Lake, according to Bloomberg.
For American Express $AXP, which holds approximately 30% of Amex GBT and is its largest single shareholder, the sale will generate $1.5 billion in cash and a $975 million gain before taxes. Existing ties between the two companies, including the arrangement under which Amex GBT uses the American Express name and various other commercial agreements, are not expected to change as a result of the acquisition.
A bloc of major shareholders — Expedia $EXPE, Qatar Investment Authority, BlackRock $BLK, and American Express — together accounting for 69% of outstanding shares, have formally committed their votes in favor of the transaction, Bloomberg reported.
Koch Inc.'s investment arm joined Long Lake's own investor base in providing equity for the purchase, while four banks — JPMorgan $JPM Chase, Bank of America $BAC, Citigroup $C, and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group — arranged the debt package. On the advisory side, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, and Bank of America guided Long Lake through the process; Amex GBT's special committee turned to Rothschild & Co.
"This agreement delivers a compelling outcome for our shareholders, providing them a substantial, certain cash value at an attractive premium," Amex GBT CEO Paul Abbott $ABT said in a statement.
Central to Long Lake's pitch is the idea that AI can fundamentally transform how corporate travel operates; the company has built a platform it calls Nexus to pursue that goal and has assembled a portfolio of services-sector companies along the way.
"The future of business travel will be defined by AI and human agents working seamlessly together on behalf of every traveler," Long Lake co-founder and CEO Alex Taubman said in a statement.
Founded as a corporate travel spinout from American Express, the company floated on public markets in 2022 via an Apollo-backed SPAC and offers software and services spanning travel, expense management, and meetings and events. A $540 million tie-up with CWT wrapped up last September, further consolidating Amex GBT's position in a market where it faces competition from the likes of Booking Holdings $BKNG, BCD Travel, and Navan.
